Merchant and wolf reach their happily ever after.
Creative Staff
Story: Isuna Hasekura
Art: Keito Koume
Translation/Adaptation: Jasmine Bernhardt
What They Say
The journey of the wisewolf and the traveling merchant comes to a riveting conclusion! Lawrence and Holo have thrown in their lot with Hilde and those loyal to the original mission of the Debau Company. Will they be able to wrest back control of the territory from the radical contingent?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It’s obvious from the cover illustration that this series will end with a joyful wedding. As if to emphasize that point, the title page is a full-color illustration of Holo in a second wedding outfit. All told, the artist draws Holo in four different wedding dresses in this final volume. It’s a visual treat for the romantic types and assurance to the readers that things will end well in spite of the dire situation in the book’s opening chapter.
Despite Holo’s dramatic intervention at the close of Volume 15, things remain dicey for our main characters and the Myuri mercenaries. Although they’ve managed to withdraw into Svernel, the town head Millike (who also happens to be a non-human) does not want to get mixed up in the Debau Company’s internal fight. If an armed force comes to his gates, he’s quite willing to hand over Hilde and the Myuri Company to preserve the peace. Worse, the wounds Lawrence sustained were serious enough to threaten his life.
With the Debau radical faction’s armed forces en route to Svernel, our heroes are stuck. However, Lawrence and Holo are not so much involved in the conflict as they were forcibly dragged in by Hilde’s scheme. As such, Holo and Laurence are offered the opportunity to run away from the mess while the rest face the consequences. It’s a heart-wrenching decision for the couple, but Holo makes her choice decisively. Despite the way she’s teased and harassed Lawrence throughout the series, he is what’s most important to her, and her concern for his well-being gets emphasized over and over in these chapters.
But as with all Spice and Wolf predicaments, our couple finds a way out. In this case, it’s Lawrence exposing the secret behind the Debau radical faction’s cash reserves. However, the narrative rushes through the thought process by which he unravels their very complicated scheme. In addition, it draws in elements from several volumes ago, which I’d mostly forgotten about. As such, the abruptness of Lawrence’s revelation made his moment of inspiration feel like a deus ex machina. However, if you don’t care about such details and are more interested in watching Holo and Lawrence team up against the bad guy, you will be plenty satisfied.
The final two chapters are dedicated to Holo and Lawrence’s wedding five years later. Like a lot of conclusions, it tries to fill us in on what’s happened to everyone in the cast. Unfortunately, it glosses over a lot, like the reason behind shepherdess Norah’s new occupation as a town priest (if you want the details behind that, you’ll have to read the novels.) However, it does do a good job of depicting Holo and Lawrence’s mutual affection and foreshadowing the happiness that lies ahead of them.
Extras include title illustration in color, the bonus manga “Rainbow Music and Wolf,” and afterword.
In Summary
As they say, it’s darkest before the dawn. Holo, Lawrence, and their companions wind up with their backs against a wall in Svernel, but Lawrence saves the day by exposing the Debau radicals’ crooked practices. The explanation of the economics behind it comes in a complicated, bewildering rush, but romance fans will be gratified to see this incident spur Holo and Lawrence to commit to one another.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: December 11th, 2018
MSRP: $13.00
